The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining dynamic stability of an emulsion and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for accurately and repeatably simulating flow conditions so that the dynamic stability of an emulsion can be determined at the flow conditions.
Emulsions are used in a wide variety of industries and applications. In these various industries, emulsion stability is frequently a critical product characteristic.
In the fuel industry, heavy hydrocarbon in water emulsions are used to provide a combustible fuel. One example of this type of emulsion is a bitumen in water emulsion provided by Bitor, S.A. under the trademark Orimulsions.RTM..
No apparatus or device is currently known which can directly measure the resistance to instability of such emulsion products. In order to evaluate dynamic stability of an emulsion in a particular flow system, expensive empirical procedures must be followed which are not necessarily repeatable for different types of emulsion and/or other flow conditions.
The need remains for a method and apparatus for accurately and repeatably characterizing the dynamic stability of an emulsion.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for characterizing dynamic stability of an emulsion which is simple in structure and use and which provides accurate and repeatable results.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for characterizing dynamic stability of an emulsion which is efficient, accurate and repeatable in providing results for various flow conditions and emulsions.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method as described above which can be calibrated so as to simulate the conditions of a particular flow environment, thereby allowing the evaluation of dynamic stability of an emulsion in a particular flow environment.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.